The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Kolkata): Several BJP leaders in West Bengal have attributed the party’s poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls to inexperienced leadership and hinted at internal conspiracies. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, swept the elections in the state, securing 29 of the 42 seats. In contrast, the BJP’s tally dropped from 18 seats in 2019 to just 12.
The election outcome has raised questions about the BJP’s campaign strategy, organizational effectiveness, and narrative coherence. “When those without any proper political experience of fighting elections call the shots in the organization, this is the result that you get. There has to be some sort of accountability of the state leaders who decided everything in this election,” newly elected BJP MP Saumitra Khan told reporters. Khan managed to retain his Bishnupur seat by a narrow margin, while the state unit struggled to reach double digits, winning several seats by slim margins.
Former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who lost the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat to TMC’s Kirti Azad by nearly 1.38 lakh votes, suggested a conspiracy behind his defeat. “A conspiracy was hatched to ensure that I got defeated or why else would I be sent to Bardhaman-Durgapur. It seems the party had sent me to Bardhaman-Durgapur from Medinipur to ensure that I lost the elections,” he said. Ghosh also noted that there has been no proper introspection in the party following the 2021 assembly poll defeat. “No one was held accountable for the loss in 2021. If there is no course correction or introspection even now, this debacle will be repeated in 2026. In the last few years, the party did not have any growth in West Bengal; rather its support base has eroded in the last five years,” he added.
Ghosh, a former MP from Medinipur, was moved to Bardhaman-Durgapur, a challenging seat, where he replaced outgoing MP SS Ahluwalia. Ahluwalia was shifted to Asansol, and the party’s sitting MLA from Asansol Dakshin, Agnimitra Paul, replaced Ghosh in Medinipur. All three BJP candidates lost to their TMC counterparts in the recent elections.
Former BJP MP from Hooghly, Locket Chatterjee, who failed to win the seat for the second consecutive time, called for proper introspection within the party. West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar acknowledged the need for introspection but noted that the party’s vote share had increased by one percent compared to the 2021 assembly polls. “It is not that the party is not moving ahead. Our vote share has increased when compared to the 2021 assembly elections, although it has gone down when compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” he said.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the TMC secured a 45.77 percent vote share in West Bengal, up from 43.7 percent in 2019. The BJP, however, registered a vote share of 38.73 percent, down from 40.6 percent five years ago.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh commented on the BJP’s internal issues, stating, “It is good that they have at least realized that they can never fight Mamata Banerjee in the state. I hope they will convey this message to their central leadership.”